1) Field of the Invention
The invention herein relates to a type of specialized hand tool, specifically an improved structure pliers for inner and outer diameter C-shaped snap rings.
2) Description of the Prior Art
There are generally two types of conventional snap ring pliers structures in common usage at present: the fixed type and the reversible type; as indicated in FIG. 1, the reversible type is typically comprised of a pliers body 1 that provides for manual handling and the application of a squeezing force; the said pliers body 1 consists of two handles 2 conjoined to form a fulcrum and, furthermore, movably coupled such that the front end is articulated apart in the opposite direction; a pin 4 projects from the left and right front ends of the handles 2; the said two pins 4 are conjoined to a pair of jaws 5 and a pivot shaft is installed between the said pair of jaws 5 such that when the pins 4 at one end of the handles 2 are evenly positioned, the other end is in a open state and, furthermore, the said pair of jaws 5 has four holes 6 along the front and rear that provide for user selection of handle 2 pin 4 conjoinment mode such that during usage the front and rear end of the pair of jaws 5 can be alternately conjoined to the handles , enabling the handles 2 to distend or constrict at the curved front end or the two holes 6 at the curved end can be conjoined onto the handle 2 pin 4 such that the application of force to the handles 2 is against the other level front end of the pair of jaws 5, allowing the pair of jaws 5 to constrict when the handles 2 are squeezed and thereby change the direction of articulation for the installation and removal of conventional inner and outer diameter C-shaped snap rings; however, with this type of structure, due to the limited assembled spacing of mechanical components, accessing the two holes of the C-shaped snap ring at a level angle is often not possible and a pair of jaws 5 of another size and angle specification must be purchased to thereby comply with the various angular arrangements of different C-shaped snap rings and, furthermore, the frequent and repeated changing of the said pair of jaws 5 during utilization is quite inconvenient and the acquisition of so many different sized pairs of jaws 5 is not economical.
Referring to FIG. 2, the fixed type C-shaped snap ring pliers consists of two handles 8 crisscrossed to form a pliers body and overlaid jaws 9 capable of opening and closing on the handles 8; locating pins 10 nested in upper slots 11 are utilized at the front end of the handles 8 and the locating pins 10 are capable of moving through the curved course of the slots 11 such that when force is applied squeeze the handles 8, the two pincer elements 12 of the jaws 9 are articulated into an opened state and when the two pincer elements 12 and the handles 9 are thus articulated, the locating pins 10 are situated in the lower slots 13 of the jaws 9; as the said locating pins 10 are moving in a curved path through the upper slots 11 when an applied force 8 is causing the closure of the handles 8, the downward curved direction of the two pincer elements 12 of the jaws 9 are such that the locating pins 10 in the upper slots 11 angle into the lower slot 6 easily during C-shaped snap ring engagement and the two pincer elements 12 are immediately brought into closure; operationally, frequent slippage and control difficulty are problematic and, furthermore, mechanical component layout often does not allow the level entry of the jaws 9 in a straight line into the C-shaped snap rings; as a result, a new pair of pliers having different specifications must be purchased, which is a shortcoming similar to that of the said reversible type pliers in that this structure is also uneconomical.
In view of the said shortcomings, the inventor of the invention herein conducted extensive research and improvement based on many years of experience with the related products which culminated in providing solutions for the said shortcomings.
The primary objective of the invention herein is to provide an improved structure pliers for inner and outer diameter C-shaped snap rings capable of efficient inner and outer diameter C-shaped snap ring installation and removal applications in various spatial and angular operating environments.
Therefore, improved structure pliers for inner and outer diameter C-shaped snap rings of the invention herein is comprised of a two-part symmetrically paired left and right-handled pliers body that is situated together at a predetermined point between its two inner sides and, furthermore, in an upper and lower overlaid and pivotably linked assembly positioning; two implement ends capable of being articulated apart and together by pivoting at the front portion and two hand grips for manual operation disposed at the rear portion; and an elastic component mounted between the two hand grips near their pivotable linkage area to provide a rebound force when the two hand grips are pivoted by squeezing, the innovative features of which include:
The said two implement ends have a first mounting hole and a second mounting hole respectively formed in them; the said two hand grips have a third mounting hole and a fourth mounting hole respectively formed in them near their pivotable linkage area; each said mounting hole is circumferentially situated an equal radius in length way from the center point of the said overlaid and pivotably linked assembly positioning; the said two-part pliers body has a jaw at each of its two upper and lower two sides that are overlaid and in a pivotably linked assembly positioning and, furthermore, which respectively share the same pivotal axis; the said two jaws have a through-hole disposed that corresponds to the site of the said first mounting hole and second mounting hole, respectively, and attached to its front end are tip members capable of being turned up and down for angular adjustment to facilitate C-type snap ring distension or constriction; positioned at each of the upper and lower two sides of the said two jaws in a movable arrangement and, furthermore, respectively along the same axis is a direction control component; each said direction control component has perpendicularly disposed at their two lengthwise ends a long post and a short post that are situated relative to the said first mounting hole and third mounting hole as well as the said second mounting hole and fourth mounting hole, respectively; as such, the said long posts can be optionally inserted beyond the said jaw through-holes and coupled into the said first mounting hole (or the said second mounting hole) or the short posts can be optionally inserted into the said jaw through-holes such that the long posts are coupled into the said third mounting hole (or the said fourth mounting hole), thereby enabling the tip members at the two sides of the said jaws to either distend or constrict at various operating angles.
To enable the examination committee to further understand the objectives, innovative features, and functions of the invention herein, the brief description of the drawings below are followed by the detailed description of the most preferred embodiment.